What is "Indwelling" that fosters creativity?

As mentioned in a previous column, we have launched "Indwelling Creators," a service designed to transform organizations struggling to drive innovation. Thanks to your support, we've already received several inquiries. Today, let's discuss this unfamiliar term, "Indwelling."

It is sometimes translated as "to dwell within," so "Indwelling Creators" might be interpreted as "resident creators." However, it does not refer to "resident creators" who are permanently stationed within the client organization and can be easily commissioned for copy or design work.

As mentioned previously, creating "new value" requires more than simple "A or B" choices. We must navigate the "fluctuations" between seemingly incompatible elements—like the "realistic idealism" executives advocate versus "on-the-ground realities," or "consumers" versus "our own products/services"—to find new directions that somehow achieve "A and B."

To achieve this, it's not enough for each side to merely assert objective facts within their own analytical world. For example, management must empathize with the field, and the field must empathize with management. They must integrate and see things from the other's perspective. This act is "Indwelling." It means dwelling within the other, sharing not just their experiences but their subjective values and perspectives.

Put another way, when creating an objective "new value" that everyone can understand, the starting point is always an individual's subjective desire: "I want to do this!" This is shared in the second-person world of "me and you." Only after intense conflict does the door open when both parties finally achieve empathy, thinking, "Ah, so that's what it means!"

The first-person (I) "subjectivity" is sublimated into third-person "objectivity" through second-person (I and you) "empathy." In philosophy, this is called "intersubjectivity," but setting aside the complex terminology, this "Indwelling" is the absolutely crucial key to driving an organization toward innovation.

A well-known example is Honda's "Wai-Gaya" sessions, which create free and open spaces specifically for fostering this "empathy." Or consider why pair programming in Agile development requires two people (though this reason seems less understood): without passing through the second-person "empathy," individual ideas won't take root.

※ = Pair Programming
A software development technique where two programmers operate one machine to program together
 

Dentsu Inc.'s specially trained creators, known as "Indwelling Creators," embed themselves within client organizations. They immerse themselves deeply, empathizing fully and thinking from the client's perspective. Simultaneously, this embedding serves as a catalyst for all members of the client organization to "indwell" each other, becoming "fellow travelers on the same ship" and unleashing their own creativity. Here, there is no distinction between Dentsu Inc. creators as thinkers and clients as decision-makers. They question together, wrestle with problems together, and execute together.

While this process may seem quite wasteful from an analytical or efficiency-driven perspective, this "indwelling" technique becomes a powerful weapon to break through the stagnation of modern society. I'd like to continue discussing this topic further next time.

【Contact Us】
opeq78@dentsu.co.jp Contact: Yamada

Now, speaking of unresolved binary conflicts, there's the ozoni issue in my household.

As someone born and raised in Tokyo, I refuse to compromise on square mochi in clear broth. My wife, originally from Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, absolutely loves round mochi with red bean paste in white miso soup (and it includes chicken as a topping!!). We've each immersed ourselves in the other's world and engaged in countless dialogues, but ultimately, two types of bowls grace our New Year's table.

At first glance, it seems like we've achieved "A and B," but in reality, it's just compromise. It hasn't created any new direction. It's far from innovation, but since both are delicious in their own way, well, whatever.

Please, help yourself!

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・What we need now isn't "objectivity" but "intersubjectivity"